The Chorus Music Club Society • Page 69

Thanks for checking them out @littlejohn, Gouge Away are one of the heavier bands I listen too, not my usual type of thing but I caught them live at Fest and the absolutely killed it. Also know what you mean about Stage Four, I love the album but if I'm not in the right frame of mind when I listen to it, it knocks me through a loop.

Should have my write up for your recs posted either later on today or tomorrow morning but spoiler alert, one I really like, the other I'm not so keen on.

 

*NSYNC’s Christmas Album is the cream of the crop imo.

 

So here's my thoughts on my first recommendation of round 4 from @littlejohn.

Gatsbys American Dream - Volcano (2005)

I'd never heard this band before (although I'd heard of them) and while it isn't my usual jam I thought this was pretty good. I'd probably loosely describe it as alternative rock with some prog and metal influences. Vocally the singer has a very theatrical voice reminding me of Berndon Urie from Panic! at the Disco but the band are heavier and groovier, although some songs do maintain a poppy edge. It took me a few listens to get into but lyrically the theme of the album seem's to be comparing the myriad of human emotions to a volcano ready to erupt? and a lot of the lyrics sound very poetic. As I said, this isn't the usual sort of thing I'd listen to but that's the whole point of music club and I definitely think I'll give it another few spins and maybe check out some of the bands other output.

 

Volcano is so sick!!!!!!!!!!

 

@skurt my dude how's your weekend?

 

Glad you liked Volcano. They have 2other albums I really like Ribbons & Sugar and self titled. There is also a new band with some of the members called the money pit their album is really good too and have a new one coming out next year.
Thanks for listening. Curious to see your review for the circa album too.

 

Hottest of takes: self titled is my favorite

Gatsbys and The Money Pit are perfect though

 

R&S is my favorite. All 3 are great though. Love the money pit album and really like the What What What album too.


I pretend their first one doesn't exist.

 

I don’t even think why we fight is too bad. It’s not as good as what came after but there’s some flashes of brilliance there

 

Going great so far man. Away at my best friends for the weekend. Hows yours?

 

It's not bad. Just not nearly as good as the others so I don't really revisit it

 

work has been wild so i'm like a week late but @marioeatworld gave me homeboy sandman - veins for the last session

This album is pretty straightforward, almost old-school rap. It's weirdly short at just 24 minutes, most of the songs clock in at about 2 minutes, which I'm not used to. I appreciated the quality of the production but it's mostly just organic instrument loops and the same drum sounds throughout the album, which is fine, but I'm not into the kind of 90s hip hop vibe it's giving me. Lyrically, I liked what I heard, but I'm not one to read along while I listen so a lot of the message went over my head. I'm into homeboy's flow, I think he's a talented rapper, but production is a good 90-95% of what I like about hip hop, and I found it lacking and frankly a little unoriginal here. I was actually surprised to find out that he used multiple producers for this album since it's the same kind of mellow vibe with a lot of similar sounding instruments across the album. I don't see myself returning to this album, but I'd be interested to see what homeboy sandman does in the future if he teams up with producers that are more to my taste.

 

We were booked to play a show for someone’s birthday but they told us to leave during shoundcheck because we scared the elderly lol

So productive weekend

 

That sucks man.

There loss on missing out on such great tunes

 

We still got paid 1000 bucks for what now essentially was a field trip LOL

 

Well thats alright!

 

So @navidson had me listen to Mae - The Everglow

I had def heard of Mae and this album cause I don't live under a rock, but for some reason I just never listened to it. So at first I was like uggggh cause the vocals had a nasal quality that I can't really stand. It put me off on We're So Far Away and I didnt like that song. But luckily I liked the ones after so that was exciting. Idk why I found the vocals grating on that song but fine on the others. Anyway, I could def see me loving this when I was a teenager, which isn't a knock or anything. I could just picture lil me yelling along to "I just wanna waaaaaake uuuuuup" And I def would have swooned endlessly to The Sun And The Moon pining over my nonexistent love life and fantasizing about ~true love. As an adult I still enjoyed it, but I can't help but think it'd have more of a magical feel if I caught it earlier before my hopes and dreams were crushed as an adult lol. Someone Else's Arms, The Everglow, and Suspension were prob my faves. I listened to Our Love Is A Painted Picture afterwards and I thought it was really lovely musically but then the vocals kinda grated again idek! Apparently me and this dude walk a fine line. But I enjoyed the album and am glad to be caught up on a classic.

 

Hanne Hukkelberg - Trust (2017) - This was described to me as "art pop". It reminded me a lot of the first Patrick Wolf album but instead of old instruments it's all digital synth and auto-tuned harmonies. What struck me most about this album was the lack of tradition percussion. Most songs have a thuddy digital bass kick and claps or beeps. The harmonies really drove the record and kept me interested. Stylistically the songs were predominantly dark and slow (again, like that PW album Lyncanthrope) but there were one or two songs that wouldn't be out of place in a dance-y setting. These upbeat tunes were a nice change of pace. Overall Trust is an album that I wouldn't listen to regularly. It's dark, digital and calculated sound makes it a great soundtrack for an overcast winter day. I gave this a "like it" on my 2017 albums list.

Hot Cross - Risk Revival (2007) - I had previously listened to Hot Cross' debut and I may have heard this 10 years ago (I had a roommate that really liked screamo and spazzy hardcore but a lot of what he listened to ran together for me). The guitar players in this band rip. Mathy riffs (a la The Fall of Troy) meet with some earnest vocal delivery, tight and frantic drumming and chunky stop-and-go bass. This record is definitely more in my wheel house. Upon doing a little research I was surprised to see that their drummer was the original drummer for Interpol, a band that I think of as complete opposites. I enjoyed the vocalists work on this record more than any of his previous stuff (Hot Cross' debut and Saetia material). Overall I can see myself spinning this album every so often or maybe recommending it to anyone who expresses an interest in mathy-riffy post-hardcore. My only complaint is that the album is fairly one-dimensional - it's balls to the walls practically begining to end. When I thought to myself "damn, this record is still going" and checked my Spotify app I had just reached the last song. I think the album could've been 2-3 songs shorter and the onslaught would've made more of an impact.

Thanks @AelNire for the recs. Glad you enjoyed the two I sent your way (especially Hooligans, that's probably my favorite 'easycore' album and it comes from an unsigned band that broke up yeaaaars ago).

 

I gotta get in on this next week

 

@WolvesAreCircling182 had me listen to:

Story Of The Year - Wolves:
This album reminded me a lot of playing music in my late teens, it sounds like a band I would’ve wanted to be in at that time. It has a wise youthfulness in their music that I enjoyed a lot, it wouldn’t be anything on repeat in my life but it takes me back to a good place, it’s pleasant and I’m very thankful to have the opportunity to give it a chance, it was very rewarding.

+44 - When Your Heart Stops Beating:
I can get why people loved this band so much. With that said, it’s absolutely not for me. I found it incredibly difficult to connect with, in any method fun, deep, or otherwise. It’s something I feel I need to pick my battle on (I have a hard time with not liking something I’ve heard so many others vouch for), an album adored by fans that’s something I just can’t understand.

 

You sure can! Welcome

 

Great review and I'm happy you liked them.

 

So I took on the additional partners of @Rob Hughes and @Fucking Dustin for this session, so here is a write up of four more albums. First, what Rob gave me:


Direct Hit- Brainless God
Opening with a punk rock song to the tune of ‘Auld Lang Syne’ with ‘On & On’ was fucking awesome. (I used to play a fife when I was younger in an Irish marching band and ALS was the first song I learned, so it has a soft spot any time is used or referenced). This band has a cool punk rock vibe, something I would have listened to back in freshman year of high school when I went skateboarding. Very reminiscent of old blink-182 and other punk acts of that time. Especially in ‘Buried Alive’ which was my favorite song on the album. I definitley dig this band, Rob guessed I would really like them and hell yes he was correct. This is pop punk done well, and it rocks. I will be checking these guys out in great length from now on. Also of note are ‘Back To The Tower’ and ‘I Told You A Lie’, but the whole album is fun.

Remo Drive- Greatest Hits
A greatest hits album? Alright then! Well @Rob Hughes i have to say you have very good taste in music, or you just knew my tastes really well, because I like this one a lot too. I was hooked as soon as I heard ‘Art School’. Might just be me but the lead vocalist sounds like the guy from ‘The Academy Is’. This is just very good emo punk. Stellar even. I was a fan of quite a few tracks, and seeing as how this is a greatest hits album that makes sense. ‘Strawberita’ , ‘Yer Killin Me’, ‘I’m My Own Doctor’ are also great songs, though again, I like every song. This was another awesome recommendation. I also plan to check more of these guys out, because this album was a great listen. Loved it!


Ok, now on to @Fucking Dustin

Jeff Rosenstock- Worry
17 tracks?! Okay then! I like Long albums. The intro track is interesting, actually kinda of make me think of something that would be from a movie by the way it sounds. Not with the lyrics though. I haven’t listened to some Ska in a long while, so this was a fun experience. ‘Festival Song’ was where this album really sold me. It was just a damn good time during that song, but then again the whole album kind of was. I found myself digging the songs and bobbing my head to the music the whole time, with a smile on my face. Dustin predicted this was in my wheel house and he was spot on. ‘Wave Goodnight To Me’ was a standout track to me for sure, as well as ‘Bang On The Door’, ‘I Did Something Weird Last Night’ and ‘Planet Luxury’. This would probably be a very fun album to see live.

Trophy Scars- Holy Vacants
I have to say I dug the guitar work the second this album kicked off. Dusting said there was a chance I would ‘fucking hate’ this album, and by hearing that guitar I could not see why. In fact the whole intro song was cool, the vocals and the guitars kind of mixed well together... almost kind of reminded me of that band I used to love but will no longer name. That wasn’t the case for the whole album, but there were many places I felt that way. I actually dug the album more than I expected to given what he said in the DMs. It was a very dark, moody album. ‘Crystallophobia’ was a huge stand out track to me, probably my favorite. the female vocalist in that song sounded great, as did the whole band. Their vocals played off eachother nicely. ‘Burning Mirror’ was also a cool one that I hit repeat on a couple times, I will admit. Also a fan of ‘Every City, Vacant’. I don’t know if I will return to this one as much as the others I listened to in these FOUR albums, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I did.

 

Ok everyone, here is Season 5 of CMCS. This will range from 12/17-12/23. I believe I removed everyone who asked to sit out this next week. So here here we go:

CMCS SEASON 5 (12/17-12/23)

@ComedownMachine / @Kiana

@LuigiPeppercorn / @Sheaver10

@Micool1 / @ImAMetaphor

@jorbjorb / @sean_rugy

@KidLightning / @bree1981

@Matthewconte / @AelNire

@elemenohpe / @littlejohn

@duritzfan13 / @JM95

@EmmanuelSCastle / @Cody

@manoverboard365 / @JoshShulkin

@dadbolt / @iCarly Rae Jepsen

@Dog with a Blog / @bachna84

@WolvesAreCircling182 / @Drewski

@Wall Of Arms / @skogsraet

@Rob Hughes / @bradsonemanband

@nickyeatworld / @AlwaysEvolving21

@teebs41 / @Colin Your Enthusiasm

@Contender / @js977

@Raditz / @skurt

@thenewmatthewperry / @Zac Djamoos

@Mary V / @Larry David

@angrycandy / @Joe4th

@nfdv2 / @navidson

@St. Nate / @Nate_Johnson

@mescalineeyes / @Fucking Dustin

@Patterns in Traffic / @marioeatworld

@carrytheweird / @ChaseTx

@nohandstoholdonto / @JRGComedy

@Mister Lyrical / @WolvesAreCircling182 *
Odd number people so I took on two.


Repeat partner? Trade new albums, or let me know and I’ll see what I can work out! Unresponsive partner? Let me know! Somehow left you off this list? Let me know! Let’s have fun!

 

what are the odds I'd get the same partner two weeks in a row